In the combination lock disclosed in Gehrie U.S. Pat. No. 3,439,515, a manually operable latch member cooperable with a hasp has longitudinally spaced bars defining slots which receive respective rotatably mounted dials having indicia or numbers thereon, each dial having associated therewith a sleeve having a flange and a flat portion. When the device is in a locked condition or "off combination", a flange of a sleeve cooperates with one of the bars of the latch member to block movement of the latch member from latching position. When the device is in an open condition or "on combination", the sleeves are oriented with the flange portions out of blocking position in relation to the bars of the latch member so that the latch member can be moved between latching and unlatching positions. When the latch member is in unlatching position, the bars cooperate with the flat portions of the sleeves to prevent their rotation and the rotation of the associated dials, thereby maintaining the lock on combination.
Combination locks made in accordance with the Gehrie patent have been satisfactory for use in connection with luggage cases and the like. However, because the amount of travel of the latch member between the latching and unlatching position is comparatively small (i.e., approximately equal to the thickness of the flat portion of a sleeve), the latch member engages a cooperable hasp to this limited extent. It is desirable that the amount of travel of the latch member be increased for thereby increasing the extent of engagement of the latch member with the hasp.